Session 18: Power, identity and global landscapes – Part 3: Nationhood and identity

November 5, 2013

Osborne Street,Winnipeg

Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Readings: Chapter 7 of Norton – Ethnicity and Nationality

1) Finish UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites;

2) Lecture: Ethnicity, Nationality, and Identity;

3) Thought provoking item: Deconstructing nationalism in advertising – e.g. Molson’s ‘I AM CANADIAN’ commercial;

4) Reflective group workshop using critical review papers

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

Group identity

essentialism: identity is basically unchanging

(e.g. employed by the perpetrators of genocide and apartheid)

constructionism: identity is fluid, contested, and negotiated

In cultural geography identities are socially constructed

Source: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

Source: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Group identity: a process of invention and reinvention

*terms such as “race”, “ethnic”, and “nation” are used to define groups

“Ethnicity”: host of scholarly interpretations, and has subjective and objective elements

Raitz (1979): “ethnics are custodians of distinct cultural traditions”

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

Source: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

6 Components of ethnicity (Smith, 1986):

1. An identifying name

2. Has a common myth of descent

3. Is a historical community that typically relies on shared memories to unite successive generations.

4. Has a distinctive and shared culture that is reflected in the lifestyles and values of the group.

5. Is linked to one or more places (most powerful when connected to a homeland)

6. Is a community that possesses a real and meaningful sense of self worth and identity.

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

Norton (p. 275) “Most ethnic groups are ethnocentric, seeing the in-group beliefs and behaviours as natural and desirable and the outgroup beliefs and behaviours as unnatural and perhaps as abhorrent”

dehumanization genocide

apartheid

human trafficking

other gross violationsSource: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

National identities – ‘Nation State’

- ‘based on a belief that the world can be divided into national groupings, each associated with a particular territory’

- each group has some inalienable right to occupy and govern its territory

Possible consequence: “world cannot be without conflict until all national groups have their own nation states”

Some nations do not have states therefore do not have the same rights

Source: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

Nationality

Groups can also contract identities of nationhood

territorial states

political ideologies

independence and ‘national freedom’

Source: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

Language and religion

In cultural geography – are the most important variables uniting groups

However, it can be argued that they are becoming less relevant

multiple and flexible identities are becoming more relevant (reflect on your own identity)

*example used by Norton: multiple forms of Christians that do not identify with each other

Source: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

The idea of nations as being inherently flawed

- The world is not simply organized into convenient groupings

- Many ways beyond language that people self identify

* your papers on nationhood and nationality illustrate this

Wilmer (1997): “The state appears to be more movable, malleable, and contestable than ever. The state consists of a set of institutions that are authoritative only because other sets of institutions recognize them; it has been socially constructed within historical and interpretive social processes and practices” Source: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Ethnicity, Nationality, & Identity

Norton (p. 280)

“National and other more local identities may be reframed in terms of opposition to others”

“Nationalism can be seen as a form of cultural capital”

Contentious example: Israel and Palestine

Source: Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Thought provoking item: Deconstructing Nationalism in advertising

‘I AM CANADIAN’

1. What are the ‘Canadian’ characteristics listed in the manifesto.

2. Are these characteristics universally Canadian?

3. Who would be most likely to identify with this manifesto?

Reflective group workshop

Papers that you reviewed focused on themes relating to nations and identity with a focus in three geographic areas (Australia, Canada, Great Britain)

Objective of the workshop: Gain other perspectives about the paper that you reviewed. Gain insights from what your class mates learned within the different contexts, and in a broader sense relating to national identities.

Reflective group workshop

Instructions: Get together with your peers who reviewed the same paper (maximum 3 per group). Chart the following concepts/ questions (take turns facilitating):

1. How does the author(s) qualify nationality? How is it defined in the paper? What are the components?

2. What are the factors influencing conflicts that are tied to nationality and identity?

3. What solutions does the author(s) suggest to such conflicts? Does this relate mainly to the place in which the conflict is occurring or are there broader applications?